Oshkosh — Mother Nature started as Milwaukee Marquette's biggest problem, then it quickly became Stevens Point running back Tanner Kolbeck.

The senior rushed for 219 yards as the Panthers' offensive line drained the Hilltoppers' defense with long drives to help knock off the defending champs, 21-3, on a rainy Saturday afternoon at Titan Stadium and secure a spot in the WIAA Division 1 title game against Waukesha West.

"Tanner has done that a number of times this year for us," said Panthers coach Pete McAdams. "As the game goes on, he gets hotter and hotter despite the temperature getting colder and colder."

Late in the third quarter, Stevens Point (10-3) was forced to settle for a short field-goal attempt after being held out of the end zone three times from inside the 5-yard line.

Hilltoppers senior defensive tackle Mark Scarpinato blocked the field goal to keep the deficit at 7-3 and give Marquette (10-3) a spark. On the Hilltoppers' first play, running back Joe Greif took the pitch and quickly fired it downfield into double-coverage, where teammate Matt Misiewicz came down with the ball.

But the possession came to a screeching halt after a bad snap left quarterback John Kopriva in a scramble for a fumble that the Panthers recovered.

"We had some real good momentum going," said Marquette coach Jeff Mazurczak. "We just could not take advantage of that momentum and turn it into points. The scoreboard doesn't lie; we were only able to put up three points."

Stevens Point took full advantage with a halfback pass of its own to the Marquette 1. Quarterback Bobby Gregorich ran it in to push the lead to 14-3 midway through the fourth quarter.

"I have to give all the credit to our O-line; they played hard literally every snap," said Kolbeck.

Marquette went three-and-out on three pass plays and, on its own 26, elected to punt and rest its hopes of defending its state title on defense.

Kolbeck ruined that plan with seven straight runs and capped off a day's work with a 9-yard touchdown run that sealed the Panthers' spot in the title game.

"We were really getting worn out on defense," said Mazurczak. "Field position hurt us as well. I wanted to see us have a better third-down conversion rate."

Kopriva struggled in his final game. The senior was 3 for 16 for 25 yards and an interception. The Panthers' defense sacked Kopriva three times, forced him out of the pocket constantly and allowed only 29 total rushing yards.